Chapter Ten
Sara and Catherine were processing the bedroom of the victim when Sara asked, "Why does Brass hate me so much?"
Catherine was a little taken aback by the question, but quickly regained her composure. "He doesn't hate you, Sara. Why would you think that?"
"Because he's always on my ass for everything. Last week, I was in Grissom's office for twenty minutes, and he came in and threw me out."
"Why were you in Grissom's office for twenty minutes?" Catherine asked, thinking back to the conversation in the break room earlier that night.
"We were going over my evaluation for Ecklie. And Ecklie, he hates me too! What the hell!?" Sara exclaimed, throwing down her evidence bag.
"Sara! Brass doesn't hate you. And Ecklie… well, Ecklie hates everyone. So don't take it personally." Catherine's attempts to calm Sara down weren't working. "And Jim, well, I think he's been a little on edge since the… shooting. Sara, it's not your fault. We'll talk more later, if you want to. But right now, let's focus on our job. We'll process the scene, and not worry about Brass or Grissom's crime scene –" She stopped when Sara whipped her head around.
"What did you just say?" she whispered.
"That we'll process our scene and talk later," Catherine said slowly.
"No, about Grissom's crime scene…"
"Oh. I said not to worry about Brass, or Grissom's crime scene – why?" Catherine was clearly confused.
"Damnit!" Sara shouted, bolting to the door.
"Sara!" Catherine yelled. "Get back here!" She wasn't listening. "Sara! As your acting supervisor, I order you to come back! You'll be on leave! With no pay!" Catherine threatened. But Sara was gone.
Warrick came running up the stairs. "Cath, what's going on? Why are you shouting at Sara?" He looked around the room they'd been processing. "Where is Sara?"
"She's gone! I said something about Brass, and Grissom's crime scene, and then she was gone."
Warrick massaged Catherine's shoulders, easing some of the tension out of them. "Catherine. It'll be okay. She'll come back. And if she doesn't, we can finish up here together. We can meet her back at the lab."
Catherine nodded slowly and went back to processing the room with Warrick at her side.
OoOoOoO
Standing in the mansion's driveway, Sara ran a hand through her hair. She was relieved to find that Brass had left the scene, and that Catherine hadn't followed her.
Getting into her car, she pulled her phone out and dialled Grissom's cell. When he didn't pick up, she swore and threw the phone down onto the passenger seat. Frustrated, Sara backed out of the driveway and turned onto the street.
To do a full investigation, you need to question potential witnesses. Grissom and I are potential witnesses. But nobody can know that. I have to make sure Grissom does security tapes. People can't know we were at the hotel. Too many complications will arise. Hopefully they won't need to look at them, she thought. Yeah, right. Like they won't need to look at them. Great...
She switched lanes, and turned left, on her way back to the lab.